And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 ESV
PEACE…this word is often thrown around loosely, often mentioned in the midst of conversations with friends. How many of us have said, “Peace out!” as we walk out the door?
Honestly though, attached to this word is a longing within our souls to find the substance of what peace can look like in our lives. Of course, we all feel peace on our snowboards or skis, floating down epic mountains with a smile on our face. This kind of peace can fill our day with incredible joy! It is so good for our souls!
This verse in Philippians shows us another kind of peace: the kind that will surpass our understanding. The peace of God is not easy to describe, but when we feel it in our hearts and in our minds, we all feel something shift within us; there is substance to this kind of peace. We may be having the worst day; our bank account hit zero and our snowboard bindings broke on the best powder day! Maybe a storm consumed our lives; not the kind that brings the freshies. Instead, we get slammed so hard in the heart that it knocks us off of our feet, launching us into mass amounts of emotional pain and chaos within our minds. Life storms can be like a tornado that sucks us up, spins us out of control, and brings mass wreckage to our hearts; a family member may have died, a job was lost, a relationship fell apart, a home burnt down, etc. It can be suffocating, and peace is nowhere to be seen. Our minds run wild with feelings of despair and defeat as we scramble to find any ounce of comfort. BUT then…we decide to open our Bible, and we read about this indescribable peace, the kind that only comes from God.
Philippians tells us that the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds. Only the peace of God will intervene to bring the calm that we need in the midst of an out of control life storm. This peace that surpasses our understanding is linked to Jesus. He is the only one who searches our hearts and hears every thought in our heads. Jesus is the only one who can bring peace to our painful chaos. He is our ultimate guardian; He wants to protect our hearts and our minds. His peace alone will shift our perspective as He pulls us into the eye of the storm with Him. Everything may be swirling all around us, but we can sit in the peaceful eye with Jesus where it is calm. Jesus will quiet our minds and bring healing to our hearts when we take time in His peaceful presence. Take a deep breath and ask Jesus to pull you into the eye of the storm; let His peace drench your heart and mind. You are safe here.
CHALLENGE:
- What does peace look like in your life right now?
- Have you ever felt the peace of God?
- Do you need Jesus to bring peace to your heart and to your mind? Just ask Him! He’s ready to help.
By Rachel Bowman | Mammoth Lakes, California